An Overview on the Psychoactive Ingredients of Marijuana

Otherwise known as cannabis, marijuana has been recognized to cause psychoactive changes to the consumer. It was the ancient Assyrians who discovered the psychoactive effects of marijuana inhalation. To date, many people in different parts of the world desire to experience such effects for their longing to a sense of relaxation and being in a state of trance.

The following are the psychoactive ingredients of marijuana.

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What is CBD

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a 5-HT1A receptor agonist that could take part on the occurrence of marijuana consumption’s anxiolytic effect. In other words, there is a tendency that the concentrated CBD of Cannabis Indica, a main variety of marijuana, can alleviate the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) anxiongenic effect significantly.

Cannabis Indica consumers usually take this herbal drug at night because of its sedative effects. Meanwhile, consuming Cannabis sativa, another main marijuana variety, likely causes cerebral high and that’s why it is typically consumed during daytime.

Concentration of Psychoactive Ingredients of Marijuana

The United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated that in a cannabis sample, the quantity of THC present is normally used to measure cannabis intensity. The hash oil, hashish or resin and flower are the three primary forms of cannabis product. According to the UNODC, marijuana typically contains 5% THC content and if it is in a resin form, the concentration could be as much as 20%. For cannabis oil, up to 60% THC concentration may be contained in marijuana.

Potency of Confiscated Marijuana in the US

In the 2000 scientific study published by the Journal of Forensic Sciences, it was realized that the THC content or potency of the cannabis plant confiscated in the US has increased from around 3.3% to 4.47% just between the years 1983 and 1997.

Another conclusion made by the study was that CBC, CBN, CBD and other major cannabinoids or cannabis chemicals displayed no essential difference in their concentration percentage over the years.

There were also further studies done by the Potency Monitoring Project of the University of Mississippi. Such studies found that there has been an increase in the main THC levels in marijuana samples taken from year 1975 to 2007. An example for that are the 1985 average THC levels that increased from 3.48% to 8.77% by year 2006.

Concentration on Cannabis Parts

The buds or flowers of the female marijuana plant have the highest THC concentration, according to the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) of Australia.

Next to the buds are leaves and then the stalks and seeds, which have concentration of one hundred times lower than that of the flowers. Moreover, the UK government moved marijuana’s drug classification from class C back to class B. This was after several revisions to cannabis rescheduling in the country.

The fact that the cannabis plant has high potency serves as a purported reason for such reconsideration. It is believed that skunk holds up to 80% of confiscated samples by the police. Recent laboratory studies have also revealed that hash oil, hashish and other extracts are normally having greater THC content compared to cannabis flowers with high potency.

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